Improvement in knitting-machine



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MPETERS FHOTO-LITHDGRAPHER. WA$NINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IONAsfHINKLI-IY, 0F' NORWALK, OHIO, AssIGNOR To THE HINKLEYY'I'I'NITTI'NG MACHINE COMPANY, OF BATH, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 101,875, dated April'12, y1870.

To all whom it may'concern; Be it known vthat I, JONAS HINKLEY, of

Norwalk, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented a newand useful Improved Knitting-Machine; and vI do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others to make and use my invention, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhiehmllate lshows a front elevation of my machine.v VPlate 2 is an endelevation. `Plate 3 is a top plan and view.

Plate 4 shows the following detailsrFigure l, the wheel that impartsintermittent motion to the rack and comb, and operates theneedle-looper, the needle being shownin'two positions. Fig. 2illustrates the method of disconnecting the needle from the wheel. Fig.

Plate 5 shows the following details: Fig.'

lis a vertical transverse section of the expanding disks which work inor engage with the driving-wheel. Fig. 2 is an end View of the rack andcomb. Fig.3is a top view of the arm that moves the index-plate whichshows the number of times the rack and comb traverse. Figrll is a viewof a part of one ofthe devices to regulate the narrowing or widening ofthe work or fabric. Fig. 5 is a detail of the thread-regulating ortension device. Fig. A6 shows the order, connection, and character ofthe stitches.

Letters Paten of the United States were granted to me 0 the 29th day ofMay, A. D. 1866, foran improved knitting-machine.

In-the followingspecitieation it has been found necessary to describeand'represent sundry of the parts, if not most, of the said machine, inorderto fully show the application of my present improvements'. Itherefore desire it to be understood that I do not herein claim any ofthe features, devices, or combinations as set forth and described insuch patent, but limit my present invention to the principles orcombinations asvdened in the claimsy at the latter part of thisspecification, such claims to which reference' 4may be had serving toexhibit the nature of 'my present invention.

The first part of my 'invention relates to the -combination of the cone.and loop-forming devices with thewheel F, hereinafter mentioned, andemployed for operating the comb and other parts appliedto such Wheel. y

Another part of myinvention relates to the combination ofthe eye-pointedneedle,r the vibrator-y looping-hook, andthe comb, the.

looper or looping mechanism operating to take the loop from 'the needleand deliver and ltransfer it to "a tooth of the comb, substan-y Finally,myinvention further consists in a Aknitting-machine composed of lall thedevices` or-instrumentalities shown in the accompanying drawings, andhereinafter described, when constructed, combined, and usedsubstantially in the manner and for the purposes asspecified. v Havingthus premised, I will .now proceed to explain the machine and thepartsthereof which I consider as new and of my invention.'

Motion is imparted to my machine by va drive-Wheel, B, revolved by anyconvenient means. This wheel has a'groove on its periphery to receive anexpansible wheel or fric` tion-gear, E, rigidly set uponrthe horizontal'shaft D. This shaft D also carries 'the wheel F, which moves the rack,needle, and looper, and also, in connection with the slides Q G',reverses the motion of the rackwhen desired, and as arranged by theoperator.

A denotes the base or platform of my machine.

The shaft D is supported upon proper stand-V ards,one of which, I, alsoholds suspended Iat one side of the wheel F both the needle and looper',arranged in their respective carriers. These carriers are attached tosleeves through which pass supporting bolts or journals, which bolts areattached or secured 'to the standard or support I in such a manner as toallow of the free vibratory motion of both looper and needle.

h shows the sleeve to which the arm or carrier of the looper is attached5 z', that of the needle-carrier. y

The carrier or arm of the needle is slotted,

`A`as indicated at e in Fig. 1, Plate 4, and the stud or eccentric as,same figure and plate, works in the said slot. Thus, by the revolutionof the wheel F a vibratory reciprocating motion is imparted to thecarrier t', and consequently to the needle. The path or camgroove y onthe same face of the wheel F, (see same gure and plate,) imparts asimilar motion tothe looper and its carrier u by means of the stud zworking in the said groove or cam.

Upon the periphery of the wheel F, Plate 4, Fig. 3, is placed aprojecting edge, r, fixed to the said periphery. The part or n r thereofis movable, and slides a short distance from one to the other side bythe turning of the small movable crank or lever w'. When the movablepart or fin r of the edge is thus turned to one or the other side by thecrank w', the said edge forms a slow screw or helix in one revolutionofthe wheel F, so that as F revolves the said free end or fin r of theedge 1 at each revolution enters a space of the rack a, Plate l, onespace or tooth in advance of that one in which the fixed part r of thesaid edge is traveling, thus advancing the rack af at each revolutionofthe wheel F a distance Aequal to the space occupied by one of theteeth of the said rack. Thus the motion of the rack and comb isobtained.

Set upon the plate, on the edge of which is formed the comb c, Plate 1,arel two slides or dogs, G G. These are held in position by having ontheir bottoms, on the sides contiguous to the front side of the rack a',lips and grooves which overlap a similar lip, and fit into a similargroove on the said rack. (See G, Plate 2.) Through the hollow cylinder eof these slides G G passes a rod bifurcated at its end 12, (see Fig. 4,Plate 5,) which points or bifurcations fit into the spaces between theteeth of the rack a. Around this rod is coiled a spring, 11. The rod isturned by a thumbpiece, e, on the front end thereof, and on the innerface of this thumb-piece are small projections a5, which it intocorresponding recesses b5, (see Figs. 3 and 4, Plate 5,) in the outer orfront ends of the cylinders e. Whenthe said projections thus sink intothe said recesses, the points or bifurcations of the rod are held firmlyin the spaces between the teeth of the rack; but when, by the turning ofthe thumbpiece, the said projections are thrown out of the saidrecesses, and the rod revolved, the points or bifurcations are moved ordrawn backward somewhat into the cylinder e and partially out of thesaid spaces. Thus as the rod is turned, these bifurcations or points, byalternately passing into the spaces in the rack, operate as a pinion tomove the slides G G along the rack, and on the metal plate or sheet onwhich the comb is formed, in either l of two directions, as the said rodmay be turned.

The coiled spring 1l is so arranged around the rod and inside of thecylinder e as to keep the forked or bifurcated portion of said yrod incontact with the rack a, but admits of the said rod being withdrawn orpulled out of the cylinder sufficiently to disconnect the rod entirelyfrom the rack, and thus allow the slide G to be moved freely along thecombplate.

When the thumb-piecee is turned in the ordinary manner, the projectionson its inner surface, by being alternately forced out of and fallinginto their corresponding recesses, serve to indicate to the operator thedistance which the slide G is moved. They also prevent the working ofythe machine from turning the rod,klthus serving also to keep the slidein any desired position on the plate. The distance between the twoslides indicates the width of the work or fabric. These two slides orcarriages Gr G are somewhat diiferent in form, and subserve somewhatdifferent purposes. This will be best understood by reference to G,Plate 3, wherethere are seen on the face 'of the said slide, toward therack a, two inclined faces or surfaces and a projection, s', and to G',same plate, wherethere is exhibited the projecting arm s. l

By means of the two projections s s the reverse motion of the rack isobtained, and 'in the following manner: When, by the motion of the racka, either slide is approaching the wheel F, the movable part or fin r ofthe edge of said wheel is found to be turned toward the said approachingslide or carriage, and when the said' carriage has approachedsufficiently near to the said wheel F to enable the projecting parts sor s', as the case may be, to touch the wheel, one of these points s ors comes in contact with the crank or lever lL0', by which the movableedge r is moved, and thus presses the said movable edge to the otherside of the periphery of the wheel, thereby causing it to engage thespaces of the rack a on the said other side of the wheel F, and thusreverse the motion of the said rack. Therefore it will be seen that therack traverses only the distance between the said slides or carriages GG', and hence they in dicate the width of the work to be performed,successive rows of stitches being added to the work by, each traverse ofthe rack a.

The two inclined faces of the carriage or slide G operate therecording-disk, by which the number of the successive rows of stitchesadded to the work is indicated.

M is this disk, set and turning in a horizontal plane on an uprightspindle, l. The pethe needle and deliver or transfer it to a tooth ofthe comb, substantially as set forth and specified..`

4. In combination with the sleeve of the needle-carrying arm and itspin, the collar, bolt, and spring, tor retaining the needle-arm inconnection with or allowing it to be moved away from its operatingdevices.

5. TheA slide G, having the mechanism described for changing itsposition on the comb, and also the projection for operating the arm 4which moves the recording-disk, all substantially as described.

6. A knitting-machine comb, having the upwardly-curved or inclinedteeth, the whole being as and for the purpose shown and hereinbeforeexplained.

7. A knitting-machine composed of all the devices and instrnmentalitiesshown in the accompanying drawings and herein described, whenconstructed, combined, and used substantially in the manner and for the'purposes specified.

JONAS HINKLEY.

Witnesses F. A. WILDMAN, S. A. WILDMAN.

